Trickster's Sweet Shop
by Anthea Evans
Summary: Caroline runs Trickster's Sweet Shop, a candy store in Archangel, Virginia. Her life is quiet and routine and she experiences adventures solely through her books—at least until a handsome stranger waltzes through her front door. Then when mysterious disappearances bring the Winchesters to town, Caroline's small world gets very big very quickly. T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One — Starting Monday, November 2st, 2009**

Caroline didn't often question her own sanity, but when she did, this questioning usually occurred around four thirty in the morning, when she rolled out of bed. While normal people were enjoying unconsciousness in their warm beds, Caroline was zombie-walking to the shower and trying to get most of the coffee into the cup while she prepared to go to work.

And even with the sucky wakeup times, Caroline wouldn't change it for anything. (Well, nothing realistic at least.)

Still-damp hair cold as she walked through the chilly pre-sunrise air, Caroline wrapped her hands a little tighter around her warm thermos of coffee and smiled. With just a few more minutes of brisk walking she made it to the doors of her workplace. Unlocking the doors, she stepped into the small store, passing under a large, fancifully carved and painted wooden sign that announced the name of the store, Trickster's Sweet Shop.

This was her domain. This store meant everything to her, it was the culmination of all her work since she was seventeen, and it was the reason she sacrificed sleep every morning (and most days, at night too.)

Caroline closed the glass door behind her and relocked it, then headed for the door leading into the back, making a quick detour to drop her purse behind the old-fashioned counter. As she walked, shoe heels clicking on the wooden floor, she nodded to herself.

During October she had rearranged the store so cheaper candy was in the front, and the wall at the back was full of exotic, expensive sweets. Perhaps it was reversed from what most stores did, but several customers had commented on how they liked that, and it made it quicker for students to locate what they wanted and buy it. And as students never had much time on their hands, they usually bought more (or more often) when they could quickly locate things they could enjoy and afford. All in all it seemed to have worked pretty well.

One hand still wrapped around the thermos, Caroline pushed the door open with the other and entered a small industrial kitchen. She didn't just run her own sweet shop, the place was part bakery as well, and she had a lot of work to do in order to catch the morning crowd.

Setting her thermos on a counter, Caroline shed her jacket, fingerless gloves, and scarf, then picked up an apron from the hook on the back of the door and got to work.

"Chocolate muffins, blueberry muffins, cheese, cherry, and chocolate danishes, and sweet bread rolls. That should just about do it," Caroline noted to herself, washing her hands in a large stainless steel sink sink now full of flour covered, batter encrusted baking implements. After quickly fixing her hair, pushing a few stray strands back up into her bun, Caroline loaded the trays of pastries onto a dual leveled rolling cart, then pushed it through the door into the main area of the store.

While Caroline had been mixing and measuring in the kitchen, the sun had risen, flooding through the big windows in the front of the store and filling the wooden-paneled, candy-filled store with a chilly light.

Pulling on a pair of disposable white gloves, Caroline transferred the majority of the pastries on the cart to the display area of the long counter, and the rest to the glass cake stands on either side of the checkout area.

With a critical glance around the store, walls lined with shelves full of candy and chocolate of every kind, displays on the floor stocked with discounted or exclusive confectionary, Caroline crossed to the door and unlocked it, then flipped over the artistic Open/Closed sign to proclaim that Trickster's Sweet Shop was ready for another day of business.

From workers on their way to the biro factory nearby to high school students dragging their feet as they make their way to school, Caroline greeted everyone who came in with a bright smile. A few were regulars, and she chatted with them for a few minutes while bagging their order. Within an hour the main morning rush had died down. Everyone who had to be at work or school by seven were there, and it would probably be pretty quiet until the suited business people on their way to the offices at the other end of town.

Although the duster in the back room was calling her name, Caroline reached into her purse and pulled out a thick hardback book and set it on the counter, flipping to her bookmark, which was about three quarters of the way through.

The book was about the works of Leonardo da Vinci, but had a good dose of historical fiction, with sword fights and intrigue and romance. Caroline was quickly sucked into the world of fifteenth century Florence.

Just as the Medici's were revealing the true instability of their system to Leonardo and enlisting his help, the bell above the door rang sweetly, dragging Caroline back to reality. Giving the book a regretful look, Caroline returned her bookmark to its place between the pages and tucked it beneath the counter.

"Welcome to Trickster's Sweet Shop!" she said brightly, leaning her elbows on the counter and spinning a silver ring around her right ring finger. The sun was well up now, lighting the store and sparkling on Caroline's long blonde hair that she had let down from the bun. Now she didn't have a book to distract herself, the smell of chocolate and the warmth of the sun actually made Caroline feel quite drowsy. (A couple weeks of burning the candle at both ends probably didn't help either.) She reached for her thermos, but then remembered that she had left it in the kitchen. Oh well. Who needs coffee anyway?

Caroline yawned. She did. She needed coffee.

"Trouble sleeping?"

The voice came from behind a tall rack of imported British candy, infused with a smile that tugged Caroline's lips upward.

"You could say that. Whenever I lie down I think about everything else I could be doing, so sleep's been taking a bit of a back burner lately," she replied.

The man emerged from behind the display of chocolates. Hands in his pockets, he walked with a confidence that brought the word 'swagger' to mind. Gold-brown hair swept behind his ears, his amber eyes twinkled at Caroline, framed by slight wrinkles that somehow added to his youthful demeanor.

"This your shop?" he asked, glancing around.

Caroline smiled proudly. "Yup. All mine."

"It's nice."

"Thanks."

"Interesting name," he commented.

Caroline nodded. She got that a lot. "

In high school my boyfriend founded this paranormal studies club. We'd go sneaking around abandoned houses with salt and pocket knives, which was pretty stupid, but hey." She shrugged, spinning the ring around her finger again. "Everyone did some silly things when they were in high school."

The man leaned on the counter, eyes on Caroline as he listened.

"Anyway," Caroline continued, "We'd read anything we could get our hands on regarding mythical creatures. Web Pages, news articles, old books from the library, you name it. I still have notebooks tucked away full of notes regarding supernatural creatures. One that I was particularly interested in was a Trickster. They're these immortal creatures that like screwing around with people and eating a whole lot of candy. I remembered that last part when I was thinking of a name for my sweet shop. Hence, Trickster's Sweet Shop." She looked up when she finished, eyebrows drawn together slightly. Caroline loved telling stories (and reading or listening to them) and she knew she might have talked for too long. But when she looked up, the man was nodding as he stood back up.

"That's interesting. Not a lot of shops these days have much of a story behind them," he said, flashing her a smile. Caroline smiled back.

"I think I'm going to look around some more."

"Sure thing! Just let me know when you're ready to check out if you want to buy anything."

He surveyed the room full of sugary treats.

"I'll definitely want to buy some things, it's just a matter of picking what," he commented, then wandered over to a rack of huge lollipops.

Caroline pulled her book from under the counter and set it in her lap, opening it to her page. She then disappeared into the story, spinning her stool slightly as she read. Lisa, love interest of one of the Medici's, was coming to Leonardo for help. Tears streaming down her face, she told him of the plot she had discovered to overthrow the Medici's, lead by none other than her own brother.

Caroline was just turning the page when the man cleared his throat. She looked up, disoriented for a moment, then saw the pile of candy the man had selected. Her eyes widened slightly as she bookmarked her place and returned the book to it's place beneath the counter.

"You sure you got enough?" she asked, laughing slightly as she started to check out. "Halloween was _last _Saturday."

"I know," he said lightly. "I depleted my normal number of sweets then, have to stock up again."

Caroline swiftly scanned and bagged the items. "Well, this should definitely keep you going for a while," she replied, handing him the four paper bags heavy with candy and printed with Trickster's logo.

"We'll see," he replied, "I think I'm going to have to come back and try one of those pastries tomorrow."

"I'll have one waiting for you," Caroline said.

"I look forward to it." He grinned, and was about to leave when Caroline called out.

"Wait! If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?"

He paused, then looked over his shoulder. "...Scott. Call me Scott."

"I'm Caroline."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Caroline."

Caroline instantly decided she liked the way he said her name with a slightly musical lilt, infusing it with the happiness he seemed to carry everywhere with him.

Then he disappeared in a swirl of chilly air and skittering dead leaves, bell ringing behind him.

The rest of the day seemed to drag on Caroline's very being. Everyone who came in grabbed what they wanted and were out the door again in a few minutes at most. Her book was good, but she couldn't seem to focus. By lunch time the sun had been wrapped in a layer of clouds that seemed greedy to keep the warmth for themselves.

The clock soon struck five, and Caroline rationalized going home early with the excuse that she would work on paperwork once she got there. As much as she loved her store, she felt stuck there.

It didn't happen very often, but sometimes Caroline was overwhelmed with a sense of normalcy. In the books she devoured during her limited free time, the characters escaped a world like hers for one of adventure and excitement and romance. Although she wasn't quite sure if she was ready for the last one yet, Caroline wished with all her heart she could have those things. But she was, on the whole, a realistic person, so she accepted her small town life and supplemented it with books of all kinds.

The walk back to her apartment was exactly the same as the walk from it had been, except with slightly more wind. Once she made it home, Caroline pulled a thick manila folder out of her desk filing cabinet, and got to work.

Dinner consisted of a cheese sandwich, hastily thrown together as Caroline's tired blue eyes scanned pages of difficult-to-decipher legal language and checked, double checked, and triple checked accounting spreadsheets. Once she read the same sentence five times in a row and _still_ didn't understand a single word, she decided it was time to turn in. Stacking the papers she had spread out around her on the floor in a semicircle, Caroline pushed them back into the folder and set it on her desk. She almost missed the red time displayed on the clock.

"Only seven o' clock?" she wondered out loud. She hadn't gone to bed before midnight for ages. Maybe the lack of sleep was catching up with her.

"Or maybe I'm finally growing up, and I've lost that college student superpower that lets you burn the candle at both ends," she said, walking into the bathroom.

Quickly brushing her teeth and changing into boxers and an oversized t shirt, Caroline fell into bed and slipped asleep almost instantly.

Waking up was a lot harder.

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

Caroline's phone blared incessantly, and by the fifth 'beep' the young woman was seriously considering throwing it out the window. But she didn't.

"I'm up!" she groaned at the device, drawing out the last word as she wormed her way out from beneath her covers and into the shower, deactivating her alarm on the way.

The morning passed much like the ones before.

Get up, shower, grab breakfast and bagged lunch, walk to Trickster's Sweet Shop. Bake, open, serve customers.

Except this time something was a little bit different. From the moment Caroline flipped over the sign on the door, announcing to anyone passing that her store was open, she was keeping an eye out for Scott.

She couldn't get his smile out of her head. It was so sincere, but there was an ironic little twist at the corner of his mouth, as if he didn't quite believe his own emotions. Whatever it was, Caroline was curious, so every time the bell rung above the door she glanced over, hoping that he would come through them.

Just before she was about to close to take her lunch hour, he did.

"Hello, Caroline!" he greeted, and Caroline looked up from the candy bars she was arranging, giving him a bright smile.

"Hi Scott! Just give me a minute."

She added two more red and gold striped confectioneries to the fan pattern, then straightened.

"What can I get you today?" she asked, walking behind the counter and pulling on a pair of disposable blue gloves in preparation of retrieving his pastry.

"What does the chef recommended?" he asked, giving her a friendly smile.

"Hmmm. Well, I personally think the cinnamon sugar rolls came out especially well today, would you like to try that?" she asked, tone light. "I could warm one up and butter it for you if you want."

"Do you offer to do that for all your customers?" he countered, raising an eyebrow, eyes sparkling. Caroline felt her cheeks color slightly.

"Only the friendly ones."

"In that case," Scott said, stretching slightly as he stood up from leaning on the counter. "I would love to try a cinnamon sugar roll."

"Fantastic," she beamed, then retrieved the named baked good and took it into the kitchen, where she quickly warmed and buttered it, then grabbed her own brown bag lunch on the way out.

"I'm going to have lunch while you eat, if you don't mind," she said, handing him the plate with a napkin and his food on it. Her stomach growled loudly almost as soon as these words came out of her mouth, and she glanced up at the large antique clock on the wall behind her. It was nearly one o' clock, no wonder she was so hungry.

"Sounds like you should," Scott said with a little laugh, then took a bite of the cinnamon sugar roll. "Ohhhhyad," he moaned unintelligibly, eyes closed. "Caroline, this is amazing," he said once he swallowed, serious eyes locked on hers.

"Thanks," she said happily, flipping the sign over on the door so customers wouldn't come in, then sitting down taking a bite of her sandwich.

"No, this is incredible," he emphasized, taking another bite. "The bread is so light, perfectly woven with sugar and laced with cinnamon, and the butter just adds to the amazingness."

"I'm glad you like it," she chuckled at his eloquence.

They ate in silence for a while. Once Scott had finally finished off his food, he licked the sugar and butter from every finger, then wiped them on the napkin.

"So to make something that amazing you must have been doing it for a while," he commented.

"Yup," Caroline said after a short pause in which she finished her bite of apple and cheese sandwich. "I've wanted to run a candy store since I was a little girl. My parents supported me when they could, and once they," she paused, fingers going to a small, heart-shaped golden locket around her neck, easy to miss, especially when she wore scarves. "Once they died, I threw myself into work."

"I'm sorry," Scott said quietly.

"It was seven years ago, a long time," Caroline said, standing and crumpling her napkin and paper bag together, throwing them into the trash can by her feet. "Can I take your plate?"

Scott handed it to her wordlessly. Just as she was about to disappear behind the kitchen door, he spoke.

"Caroline."

She turned her head, but kept her hand ready to push the door open.

"Losing someone never really stops hurting, no matter how much time passes," he said, eyes full of sadness. "You don't have to rationalize your pain to me. It doesn't need an excuse."

She blinked hard, lips quivering, then quickly shoved open the door open and hurried into the dark coolness of the kitchen. She felt like her heart was being squeezed by an invisible hand.

"Come on Caroline, keep it together," she muttered to herself, catching her bottom lip between her teeth as a few stray tears dropped from the tips of her nose and chin. "You just embarrassed yourself in front of a customer and someone who could have been your friend," she continued, forcing herself to walkover to the sink and put the plate in.

"If you fall apart at every mention of your parents you're going to be a failure," she finished harshly. "Trickster's will fail and all the money and work your parents put in to help you start it will go to waste and you'll _fail_."

With that, she roughly dashed the tears from her eyes with the palm of her hand, took a deep breath, and walked back into the main part of the store.

But Scott was gone, and Caroline doubted she would ever see him again.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Hello everyone! I hope this is a nice start to the TSS reboot. To readers of the old fic: Thank you for transferring to this one! It means a lot to me that you'd like to stick with the story. :) To newcomers: Welcome! I hope you'll enjoy this story.

A review is always appreciated, and could have impact on the plot if you give me ideas ;) Also I'd love to know what you think, and if I can improve at all.

Cheers!

-Anthea xxx


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Chapter two is here! Sorry it took so long, I meant to upload yesterday but I got sick and didn't really want to do anything except sleep. Big 'thank you' to Noelle (unallonsy on tumblr) for beta reading and putting up with me. Also, thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited, and followed last chapter. I hope you like this one too!**

**Chapter Two — Starting Wednesday, November 4th, 2009**

Wednesday was important to Caroline for two reasons. First of all, it was extra cleaning day at Trickster's, the day she regretfully left her historical fiction novel at home. Secondly, it was Girl's Night, when she closed early and met her friends for coffee at a local coffee house that one of her friends, Christine, had once described as "an off-brand Panera without the bakery."

After making it to Trickster's a little late due to wardrobe malfunctions — a fancy way of saying she had forgotten to do laundry and couldn't find any clean socks for ten minutes — Caroline baked a little less than normal and cut her lunch break down to a quarter of an hour. Even though she kept busy every moment she wasn't serving customers, Caroline still couldn't help but glance at the door every now and then, hoping that a grinning, golden-brown haired man would come through.

But he never did.

Four o' clock came and Caroline had never been happier to leave Trickster's Sweet Shop. Not that she didn't love the place, but she needed a break. And a couple hours with her three best friends sounded like just the ticket.

"Hey girls," she greeted. "Christine running late?"

"You know how she is," Victoria, a pretty Asian girl with an affinity for scarves and fingerless gloves, said.

"She's just very busy, being a detective is draining on her," Annie said. The oldest of their group by four years, Annie was by far the most sensible, and was the only one who had a husband and house of her own.

"It's not draining," scoffed Christine as she slid into the booth by Caroline's side and completing their party. "There's just a lot of paperwork. I'm more likely to suffer death of a thousand papercuts then I am to ever get injured on the job."

"And we're all very thankful for it," Annie said. She had been worried for Christine when she first accepted the promotion a few months ago, but now seemed assured that the job was, perhaps, even less dangerous than that of a normal police officer.

"So, how's life for you two?" Caroline asked, sipping the coffee Victoria had ordered for her earlier.

"Christine leaves loaded guns around the apartment," Victoria noted, sipping her own drink demurely and ignoring her roommate's offended look.

"That was one time," Christine spluttered. Victoria just fixed her with one eye, silently sipping her drink.

The moments ticked by.

"Fine. Twice, I guess," Christine admitted, slumping in her seat and stirring her coffee moodily.

"What about you, Annie?" Caroline asked, ignoring the death glare Christine was shooting Victoria behind her back.

Annie leaned forward, fringe of wavy brown hair falling in front of her eyes slightly. Her fingers brushed it away impatiently, a smile pulling at her lips.

"Bruce and I are going to start trying for a baby," she said in a conspiratorial whisper. Caroline clapped a hand over her mouth, open in happy shock.

"Really? Annie, that's great!" she said, matching her friend's whisper.

"I'm so happy for you!" Victoria said in the same tone, eyes sparkling.

Annie placed a finger over Christine's lips just as they were opening. "If the next words out of your mouth are anything other than congratulations I'll make you pay for your coffee next week."

Christine smirked, knowing that her friends knew her too well, then quickly shifted the expression into one of happiness instead of deviousness.

"I wish you all the best of luck," she said.

"Thank you," Annie replied, sitting back in the booth. "He's been so busy with his research lately we weren't sure, but there's no time like the present, right?" she said, one hand laid absentmindedly over her abdomen. She raised her tea to her lips, nose wrinkling as the steam covered her glasses.

"Caroline?" Victoria asked. Caroline looked up from her cup, into which she had been staring for the past few moments, not thinking about anything in particular.

"Hm?" she looked up, eyebrows raised slightly.

"How have you been?" Victoria expounded, lips twitching up at her friend's inattentiveness.

"I've been okay," Caroline replied, debating whether to tell her friends about Scott.

"Does 'okay' have anything to do with that hot guy who's been in and out of Trickster's for the past few days?" Victoria continued, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Oh him, ha, no," Caroline said, trying to brush it off. "Have you been stalking me?"

"Caroline, I'm a blogger. I practically live in this coffee shop, and it's right across from Trickster's. Of course I'll notice someone like that returning not once, but twice to your store, once over your lunch break."

"True," Caroline acquiesced.

"So? Care to share what's on your mind with the group?"

Caroline sighed. "Well, he came in a couple times and he's just easy to talk to and funny-"

"-and attractive," Christine interrupted, looking at a photo on Victoria's laptop.

"Vic, did you pull that image from the security cameras?" Caroline questioned, incredulous. The friend in question only smiled sweetly.

"Please continue."

"Anyway, today, my parents came up. And normally I'm fine, but he said something really sweet and understanding and I kind of ran into the kitchen, and...yeah."

Caroline heaved a big sigh. "He was fun, I think we could've been friends," she finished.

Annie placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Well don't look now," Christine said casually, "but he sort of just came in the door."

It took one meaningful glance, and by the time Caroline registered what Christine had said and raised her head to look, her friends and their drinks had disappeared. She saw them out of the corner of her eye bustling into the break room at the back; Victoria pausing to have a word with the waitress, pointing first at Scott, then at Caroline. The waitress nodded, and Victoria hurried to join the others.

Caroline leaned back in the now-empty booth, leaving just the few inches of wood at the top of the seating arrangement between her ears and the waitress now addressing Scott. And although she kept her eyes fixed on her hands, which were wrapped around the smooth white mug, her attention was all on the conversation happening behind her, Victoria's involvement in whatever was about to happen only peaking her interest more.

"Hello, welcome to Michael's Coffee House! How can I help you?" the waitress said.

"Table, please, darling," Scott replied, although his flirtatious remark fell a little flat because of what sounded like defeat bleeding into his tone. Caroline wondered for a moment if he blamed himself for her tears earlier and felt like he had messed up the budding friendship.

"Sure thing!" she replied perkily. "We're actually doing a special cleaning on most of our tables today, would you mind sharing one?"

"Nope."

Then, to absolutely no surprise on Caroline's end, and, judging by the expression that flashed across his face for a moment, great surprise to Scott, the waitress sat him opposite her.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," she replied. "What a coincidence."

The last part was tinged with sarcasm that he probably picked up on, but chose to ignore.

"Listen, about yesterday-" he started, but Caroline stopped him, looking up at him.

"It's fine, it really is," she said. "Your words were really thoughtful. I couldn't believe someone who is almost a stranger to me could understand me so well."

"Well," he replied. "We don't have to stay almost strangers. I enjoyed our time together," he said. Caroline smiled at him, not noticing the slight shimmer of air behind him.

"I did too. You're not too bad of company," she teased, relieved when she saw him break into the grin she was used to seeing on him.

"You're pretty decent too," he replied. The waitress then appeared at their table.

"Can I take your order?" she asked, pen and pad of paper at the ready.

"Mocha Espresso, extra shot if you can, sweetheart," he said, eyes not leaving Caroline's. Caroline blushed slightly, lowering her eyes to the last few sips of her own coffee in the bottom of the mug.

"Absolutely, sugar," the waitress said, clicking the pen closed and dropping it into her apron pocket, then making her way into the back of the store to procure his beverage.

"So, I'm assuming it wasn't you who bribed the waitress to sit me here," Scott said.

"Why do you assume that?" Caroline asked, curious and amused.

"You don't strike me as the type," he said, and jerked a thumb towards the break room, where Caroline's three friends were concealed. "Plus, I saw your cute friend slip her an extra tip before she went into the room back there."

"Yup, that was Victoria," Caroline said. "Although really, I think it was a spontaneous group effort between the three of them."

"Three of them? Well if they're all as attractive as you are you'll have to introduce me."

Caroline laughed. "Oh, they're all gorgeous, but Annie's married and I really don't think you're Christine's type."

"And Victoria?"

"I'm not sure," Caroline said, although she knew exactly what Victoria's impression of Scott was.

"Well, whenever they feel like coming out from their hiding place I'd love to meet them," he said.

"They'd probably love to meet you too," Caroline replied.

"So, do you four come here often?"

"Yup, every Wednesday. We've been friends since college, and now everyone has lives going in different directions we want to make sure we stay close. They're pretty much my family; they've helped me through a lot."

"It must be nice having people like that around."

"Yeah, I can't imagine what I'd do without them. Annie makes sure none of us starve or get kicked out of our apartments for forgetting to pay rent, even though she's married and working on starting a family with her husband, Bruce." As Caroline spoke she realized that, while her friends knew a lot about Scott (for never having met him), he didn't know anything about them, and was likely to be overwhelmed if and when they emerged from their hiding place, so she decided to at least make sure he knew who was who. "Annie's the one with cute wavy brown hair, glasses, and a cardigan. Victoria ensures the rest of us—me, mostly—don't work 24/7 and actually get out and have some fun once in a while, and she organized the first Wednesday afternoon meet up. She's the Asian girl with the long scarf, laptop, and fingerless gloves. And Christine, also Asian, is the thrill seeker and risk taker of the group. I think her lifelong goal is to get me out of Virginia," Caroline said, feeling that since her friends already had some basic information on Scott it was only fair that he had level footing when he met them.

"You've never left Virginia?" Scott asked, head tilted slightly in incredulity.

"Nope. My travels tend to be of the kind you can find between the covers of a good book. I've been upstate a few times for school things, but never across state borders."

"Don't you get bored?"

Caroline laughed a little. "Hon, I have a veritable library at home, plus I work hundred hour weeks. I'm not bored." But even as she spoke, her brain reminded her of all the times she had finished a really excellent adventure novel, and wished with all her being something like that could happen to her. Something full of excitement and danger and good guys always winning in the end.

She pushed the feeling down, sternly reminding it that real life didn't work like that. Real life was messy and hurtful and sometimes boring or dull and when there was danger there was no guarantee that the good guys would win, or even survive.

She shrugged. "Okay, maybe sometimes I get a little bored. But who doesn't?"

"Me," Scott countered, flicking his eyebrows up and down and grinning at the woman opposite him.

"Please, everyone gets a little bored sometimes. What do you do anyway?"

"I travel," Scott said, sitting back and throwing his arm along the back of the booth's seat. "My family went through a rough time, and since I had quite a bit of money on my own, I started traveling and then didn't want to stop. I go from place to place, stay for as long as I want, then pack up and move on."

His last words made Caroline's heart twinge a little in sadness.

"So do you think you'll be moving on soon?" she asked. "Archangel doesn't exactly have a lot to offer."

"I don't know," Scott replied casually, "your little town is more interesting than it appears. I think I'll stick around for a while."

Caroline smiled widely, and he returned the expression. Just then, Caroline's phone buzzed, and she pulled it out to check it.

_Get his number! –Vic_

She laughed nervously and slipped her phone back into her pocket. Scott looked at her with one raised eyebrow and and corner of his mouth lifted.

"Uh, my friend," Caroline said vaguely. "She likes to...meddle?"

He nodded and they sat in comfortable silence for a few moments.

"Here's your coffee," the waitress said sweetly, sweeping up in a whirl of warm coffee and sugar.

"Thanks," Scott said, accepting the steaming cup from her.

Caroline noticed that the door to the back room was beginning to crack open, and three heads poked out slightly. She waved them over. Filing out, the three of them made their way over to the booth.

"Hi guys," Caroline said ironically, "fancy seeing you here!"

She turned to Scott. "Scott, these are my best friends, Annie, Victoria, and Christine," she needlessly introduced, as she had already briefed him on them.

"Hello girls," he greeted. "Care to join us?"

They agreed, and Victoria slid into the booth next to him, Christine sitting next to Caroline and Annie pulling up a chair from a nearby table. They chatted for a little, and soon everyone was laughing together. Christine and Scott got in a pun battle which astonished and amused the others, and Victoria told them about the time she had won a laptop by hacking the competition's front page and turning it into a grumpy cat fan page.

"It's nearly six!" Annie exclaimed, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Bruce is making dinner tonight, if I hurry I just might make it," she said, getting up and grabbing her purse.

"I should probably go too, I have lots of paperwork to get to tomorrow," Christine added.

"I have to go back to being a hermit," Victoria joked, "plus Christine's my ride home. I'll see y'all later."

Caroline hugged each of her friends and said her goodbyes, and Scott promised not to be a stranger.

"I should probably go too," Caroline sighed, scooting out of the booth and pulling her purse onto her shoulder. "I have early mornings, and always have things to do at home. Like laundry. I sort of have to do that today."

"I'll say goodbye then," Scott said, standing as she did.

"You know," Caroline mused, "you could join me for lunch at Trickster's if you want. That is, if you don't have anything else planned."

"I'd love to," he replied, smiling down at her. Then, he ventured, "Is this a one-time thing?"

Feeling suddenly bold, Caroline smiled up at him. "Doesn't have to be."

"Awesome. I'll see you tomorrow then."

Caroline nodded and started to leave, then remembered something and turned back.

"One o' clock to two, don't be late!"

"I won't," he assured.

Then she pulled open the door and stepped into the dimming light and rustling leaves of Archangel at twilight.

The next day Caroline awoke with anticipation, like the first day of vacation. She honestly enjoyed Scott's company. He was easy to talk to, and understanding, and funny, and attractive—wait, what?

Shaking her head, she stepped into the shower. Christine's words must be messing with her head.

Regardless, Caroline spent extra time on her outfit that day, wanting her outside to look as good as she felt inside. After some deliberation, she chose an oversized crocheted mint green sweater over a white camisole. She tried to keep Trickster's fairly warm during the winter, so the thin sweater wouldn't bother her. Pairing that with a pair of dark wash jeans, Converse, and her ubiquitous locket and ring, she turned her attention to making sure her winged eyeliner was perfect. The last step was to pull her long blonde hair into a messy bun, and then she saw it was time to leave, so she grabbed her purse and thermos of coffee and went on her way.

The entire morning she spun around the shop, baking, cleaning, and serving customers with an indefatigable smile. One o' clock had arrived before she knew it, and her eyes began flicking away from her paperwork, to the door, more and more often. At one o' three exactly, the bell rang and Scott entered.

"You're late," Caroline said, unable to keep the smile out of her voice.

"Apologies, my lady," Scott said, sweeping into view with paper bags in both hands. "I thought since you have so graciously provided the venue, I could provide the food."

Placing the bags on the counter, he opened one. The delicious smell of toasted bread, melted cheese, turkey, bacon, and spices wafted into the air with a small tendril of steam.

"Oooo, you got sandwiches from the Hub," Caroline said, melting as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "They're the best."

"I got to chat with Annie while they were made. I didn't know she worked there," he said, closing the bag again to keep the sandwiches warm. Caroline opened her eyes.

"She does, but it's really just to get a little extra money to save for the baby. Her real job is probably helping Bruce with his research. She's close to genius, although she'll never admit it. And normally I wouldn't let you buy lunch, but you somehow picked out my favourite sandwich ever, so this can be an exception," she said.

"I might have had a little help," Scott winked, handing her the toasted turkey avocado blt and taking out a philly cheesesteak panini for himself. He then pulled up an extra stool that Caroline had set out and sat down.

"Hang on," Caroline said, and ran over to the door, flipping the 'open' sign to the 'closed' side.

"There," she said, hopping back onto her seat. "Now I can enjoy my sandwich in peace."

Scott chuckled, and the two consumed their meals with great relish.

"Now," Caroline said, licking sauce off her index finger. "You provided the lunch, so I'll provide the treat. Pick a dessert, and I'll throw away the bags."

Scott's eyes widened in delight as he surveyed the variety of baked goods Caroline had created that morning.

"Just wait until December," she said, taking the trash to the large rubbish bin in the kitchen rather than fill up the small one by her desk. "I'll make fudge then."

Scott made a wordless exclamation of delight at this, then turned back to the difficult choice of homemade chocolate chip cookie or raspberry jam Danish.

**A/N: I hope you liked it! As always, I'd love to know what you thought, and how you think I can improve. Reviews, favourites, and follows are all greatly appreciated. :)**

**Cheers!**

**-Anthea xxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hello everyone! Sorry this took so long, I started college and everything's going a bit nuts. It's nearly twice the length of the previous chapters though, I hope that makes up for it! And thank you all so much for favoring, following, and reviewing. I love you all!

**Chapter Three — Starting Wednesday, November 26, 2009**

Lunch with Scott became a daily occurrence for Caroline, save Sundays—she spent that time attending service and reading or otherwise relaxing along and recharging for the week. The two of them soon found they had a lot in common. They both loved Trickster's, for one, and Scott often bought some candy, even though Caroline tried to stop him. She had no idea where he was putting it all—he couldn't be eating it, not with that figure, she had thought once, then blushed—but every other day or so he would buy a sampling of confectioneries.

One Wednesday he had come in early, while Caroline was busy inputting some orders after taking inventory that morning.

"I haven't got anything new in since yesterday, you know," she said lightly, double-checking the number of Hershey's bars she had inputted was correct.

"I know," he replied, "I just like browsing."

Caroline glanced up at him a couple times, happy that he loved the store so much—she had put her heart and soul into it for nearly nine years. She had started serious plans when she was sixteen, started working towards them a year later, and now she was here, getting distracted from her work by a handsome friend...who had just noticed she was staring at him.

"Like what you see?" he asked, winking at her. Caroline stuck her tongue out at him and turned back to her work, but they were both aware of the extra rosiness of her cheeks.

Finishing up and submitting the order she was working on, Caroline set out her lunch, then slid off her stool and flipped the sign over on the door, officially going on her lunch break.

When she turned around, she caught Scott looking at her.

"Like what you see?" she asked promptly, turning his words back on him.

"Sure thing, sweetheart," he replied with a mischievous grin. Caroline thought she saw something move slightly on the shelves behind him, but decided it was just the sun reflecting of shiny chocolate assortment boxes.

"Shall we have lunch?" she asked, ignoring the strengthening blush on her cheeks and neck. He gestured grandiosely to the counter where their respective meals waited.

They chatted a little, but the two of them hadn't really done anything of interest in the time that had passed since they last spoke, so instead they sat in comfortable silence.

"Oh hey," Caroline said, pulling out her phone, "I downloaded this awesome song last night."

Feeling around underneath the counter, her fingers closed on a thin wire after a few seconds, and she plugged it into her phone's headphone jack, then tapped the screen. Guitar notes filled the store.

"You have a PA system?" Scott asked, looking up and noticing the black speakers carefully concealed throughout the room.

"Yup. Can't ever decide what sort of music to play though," Caroline said. "So I just don't."

"You should, you have a good taste in music," Scott said.

"Thanks."

They both listened to the song for a little.

_I remember the day you told me you were leaving, I remember the makeup running down your face._

"Who is this?" Scott asked.

"5 Seconds of Summer," Caroline said.

_I wish that I could wake up with amnesia, and forget about the stupid little things. _

_Like the way it felt to fall asleep next to you, and the memories I never can escape._

'_Cause I'm not fine at all._

Scott nodded. "Cool."

Caroline's lips curved up in a smile. "Thanks."

She then turned down the music and they talked about nothing for a while, but it was the sort of nothing that you never run out of, and never want to end.

Scott left at two, and Caroline busied herself straightening up and serving afternoon customers until four, when she locked up the shop.

Turning away from the doors, she ran straight into a familiar someone.

"Scott! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Caroline! I was on my way to get ice cream. Hey, since you've locked up early you can come!"

The fact that Caroline was busy on Wednesdays had obviously slipped his mind. Caroline knew that the chance to mess with him were few and far between.

"It's almost winter!" she exclaimed, not answering him directly.

"So?" he countered. "Hot chocolate in summer, ice cream in winter."

"Well…." She pretended to contemplate it.

"Good, come on!" he exclaimed, offering her his arm. He certainly was cocky, so sure she would go with him.

"Sorry, Scott, previous plans. Have fun!" she said, smiling at him sweetly, ducking under his arm, and walking across the street.

Once she reached the other side she glanced back to relish the look on his face that graciously accepted his defeat. He waved, she waved back, and they went their separate ways: Scott to procure ice cream, Caroline to join her friends for coffee.

"So," one of Caroline's girlfriends said teasingly as soon as she sat down with her coffee. "How's the boyfriend?"

"Please, Annie," Caroline said. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Yet," Christine finished, innocently observing her fingernails.

"Guys! He's not my boyfriend!" This was a conversation Caroline had had before.

"And," she continued before Christine could butt in again, "he probably won't be. Sure, I enjoy his company-"

"-as you've told us. At great lengths," Christine interrupted, ignoring Caroline's glare.

"But we're just friends."

"Famous last words," Annie whispered.

"I heard that."

"Honestly, if you're not going to ask him out, I might." Victoria slid into the booth, completing their party.

"Once and for all," Caroline said, exasperated, "He's my friend. I don't really want to go out with him, because he's probably going to leave in a couple weeks to continue his cross-country 'journey to figure some stuff out/avoid family issues' and that would suck. Besides, I don't think he's, 'the one,' so why bother? I'll just save myself a lot of pain and embarrassment."

"If you don't want to go out with him, that's your choice," Victoria said.

"But it's the wrong one," Christine continued.

"I think you do like him, you just won't admit it because of the way your last relationship ended," Annie finished, laying a comforting hand on Caroline's arm.

"Is this an intervention?" Caroline asked suddenly.

"What, no!" Christine exclaimed.

Caroline narrowed her eyes at each of her friends in turn.

"Okay, maybe a little," Annie said gently. "You need to get back out there. You're 26, and you haven't had a boyfriend in five years. We're just worried."

Caroline sighed. "Guys. I appreciate your concern, I really do. But I don't need a boyfriend. I am perfectly capable of living alone, and I don't need a man to complete me."

She wrapped her hands around her warm mug. "Maybe it would be nice to have a boyfriend, and maybe one day I'll find one. But I certainly don't need one, and I highly doubt it's going to be Scott. Now, can we please move on to another subject?"

Glancing around at one another, the girls agreed.

"Katy's throwing a party this weekend," Victoria mentioned.

"I'm surprised anyone still goes to them, she's so self absorbed," Caroline said, jumping on to another one of their group's favourite topics of conversation: Katy.

"Honestly she hasn't changed at all since high school. I wish she'd just take her money and husband and mansion and 'perfect life' and move somewhere far, far away," Christine agreed.

"Florida," Caroline suggested.

"Too close."

"Hawaii?"

"Perfect, Annie. Then she can get into that yacht she keeps bragging about and sail away!" Victoria exclaimed.

"Never to return," Christine added, and they all laughed.

"Now, girls," Annie chided. "We don't like her, but we don't want her to die."

"Always the mature one, Annie. I honestly don't know how you put up with us."

They all laughed. Caroline relaxed, enjoying not worrying about paperwork or bank statements or a certain handsome man she met for lunch each day.

Caroline's life had a quiet rhythm to it. She didn't vary much from the familiar path, and the days melted together in a sun-warmed, sweet tasting cascade, one after the other with little difference. And it was nice, but sometimes she sat in her apartment, surrounded by a half moon of inventory sheets and price comparisons, and she would long for something more. Her memory would drift to all the amazing stories she had read, and the adventures they described. She wanted something like that.

But then her realistic side would kick in—annoying, but it seemed to be a part of becoming an adult—and she would turn back to her work, focusing on Cadbury's vs Hershey's rather than Good vs Evil.

**Thursday, November 27, 2009 **

And her morning had been going so well….

Scott had come over early and was sitting with Caroline, eating chocolate and generally being distracting as she tried to read the novel she finally had some time for.

Looking up from her book, the store owner groaned internally as the door to Trickster's swung wide open. The click of heels on hardwood was the first indicator of Katy McClaire's presence. Then she came into view—tall, perfect body, stylish clothes. Katy removed her Gucci sunglasses and snapped her bubblegum as she surveyed the small candy store as if it were a molehill on her pristine lawn.

"Caroline," she said, finally seeming to notice her. Caroline unconsciously shrunk back in her chair. Scott glanced up, sensing something was wrong, but stayed quiet.

"Katy," Caroline replied. The woman before her was easy to make fun of behind her back—which was wrong, Caroline knew, but entertaining nonetheless—but when she stood before you, looking down her plastic surgery perfect nose at you, she was downright intimidating. "What can I do for you?"

Katy glanced at the book Caroline had set on the counter with a well-controlled sneer. "Not much, darling, not much. However, I would like three dozen of those eclairs you sold me last year—the ones in the flower boxes."

"Sure. I'll need to order them in, so if you could just-"

"Sorry, dear, I must dash," Katy bulldozed over her, slipping her sunglasses back on.

"Well, I just need you to-"

The door swung closed behind the rich woman, and a moment later the sound of a powerful engine started. Caroline's shoulders slumped.

"pay...in advance...never mind."

She turned to the computer where she would put the order in.

"Why did you do that?" Scott asked.

"Do what?"

"Let her prance in here like a show pony and walk all over you."

Caroline sighed and shrugged one shoulder. "I'm used to it. She's looked down on me and my friends since freshman year. Why should she change now?"

"That's not a good enough reason."

Caroline grimaced. "I need her business. Without Katy and her stupid parties, Trickster's would have gone under long ago, and she knows it."

"She buys a lot of your candy. So what?" he declared, then leaned in conspiratorially. "You're doing well now, I know that. See, I figured out your secret. When I saw the sheer amount of paperwork you do, I knew all of that couldn't be just regular upkeep for Trickster's." With this, he struck a contemplative post. "So I asked myself: what else would she be doing paperwork for? And the answer is…(drumroll please)...you're looking into opening a second branch somewhere nearby. A Trickster's Sweet Shop Two!"

Caroline flushed with pride and looked down at her hands, fiddling with the hem of her sweatshirt.

"Well, I wasn't going to tell anyone until it was all settled…"

"That means you don't need her business anymore," Scott insisted, leaning back as he made his point. "Don't let her be rude to you. Stand up and slap her on her big head and oh-so-perfect hair with the lease to your new building!"

"Scott! I can't do that!" Caroline reprimanded, but she was laughing. Upon seeing her smile, Scott grinned and sat back.

"Yeah, you wouldn't do that…" he trailed off and his grin turned slightly sinister as his eyes glinted.

"Can I get a raincheck on lunch today?"

"I see you every day. What do you want to do, move in with me?" Caroline teased, then realized what she said and stopped, eyes wide.

"Not today," Scott said, smirking as he pulled on his jacket. "I'll see you later."

Snapping out of her embarrassment, Caroline grew suspicious. "Scott? Scott, what are you going to do?"

He escaped out the door with a chuckle.

"Scott!"

**Friday, November 28, 2009**

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

Caroline's arm snaked out of the pile of blankets she was bundled in. After slapping around on her nightstand a few times her clumsy fingers wrapped around the offending phone and drew it back into the nest of warmth.

Everything was still for a few moments. Then the blankets stirred and parted, revealing fuzzy, knotted bedhead. Mouth part way open, Caroline looked around her room through half-lidded eyes. She then fell face forward on top of the blankets, promptly slipping back into sleep.

Five minutes later noise weaved its way into her subconscious, drawing her out of her slumber.

"Yes, yes, I'm up," she groaned to the beeping device, except it came out more like 'yeshesh I'm uh,' as drowsiness slurred her speech. Deactivating her alarm, Caroline dragged herself out of bed, rubbing her eyes. She felt like she was forgetting something…

A phone call. Something to do with Trickster's…

She stopped, eyes wide. Then a grin spread across her face as she remembered the entire conversation. As of 8pm the night before, she officially had a location for Trickster's Sweet Shop Two, as Scott put it.

"_Today, a sweet shop. Tomorrow, the world," _she joked, in an instant good mood. After a quick shower—during which she sang girl pop at the top of her lungs—she took extra time on her appearance.

"_I feel fabulous, so I should look it too," _Caroline thought, checking her hair in the mirror. It was up in a messy bun that looked great with her carefully applied eyeliner and big hoop earrings. She grabbed her purse and practically skipped out the door, forcing herself to contain herself when she bounced around the corner and scared the night guard.

"Sorry," she apologized. She gave him a sheepish smile and strode out the door, wrapping her scarf a little tighter and hurrying to Trickster's.

After baking for a few hours and opening, she couldn't sit still. So she baked some more. Before long the counters in the small kitchen were covered in all kinds of pastries and cookies and pies and cakes. Surveying her work proudly, Caroline realized she _couldn't _bake anything else, as all her pots and pans were dirty, and counter space full.

Reading didn't hold her attention. A glance at the clock told her it was only 10:30. She brushed an escaped strand of hair behind her ear, leaving a small streak of flour on her temple.

She was bursting, she _had _to tell someone. But Annie, Christine, and Victoria would all be working.

Scott. He was probably wandering around town or something.

Pulling out her phone, she realized she didn't have his phone number, despite Victoria's previous urgings. It had just slipped her mind until this exact moment.

"Uhhhhhg, I'm going to go crazy!" she declared, collapsing into her chair.

Another hour crawled by, along with several customers, none of whom left with the knowledge of the Trickster's expansion. Caroline decided she wanted her friends to know first. They were basically her family, after all.

The bell above the door rang as her last customer exited, but footsteps sounded inside the store and Caroline looked up, hoping Scott had decided to come early. Instead of the friendly, amber-eyed man, the exact last person she wanted to see strutted in.

"Caroline," the person greeted, keeping her large sunglasses-Coach today-and hat on.  
>"Katy," Caroline said, raising an eyebrow at her odd headgear. Last time someone had suggested Katy wear a hat, she had pitched a fit and spent at least five minutes straight talking about how beautiful her hair was. Now none of her silky black tresses were visible.<p>

"Can I help you?"

"I've come for my chocolate," Katy snapped.

"I don't have it."

"Why not? It's been nearly twenty four hours!"

"You didn't prepay. You have to prepay in order for me to order special for you."

"Why? I've never had to do that before!"

"Well, now you have to."

Katy stalked closer, removing her sunglasses. "Listen here you little-"

"Wow, Katy, what is with your hair?"

When Katy removed her sunglasses she had knocked her hat askew. It let her hair tumble out of its confines. It was tangled and knotted, less a collection of hair strands and more one mass of ratty knots. Katy paled.

"What about it?"

"It-um-doesn't look as good as usual. And you have really dark circles under your eyes. Would you like to come into the back room? I could help you with your hair and…"

Caroline trailed off as Katy sneered.

"Why would I want help from _you_? Do you even remember how you looked in high school? Uhg, it was painfully, honestly, and you haven't changed at all. Still an insecure, pathetic dreamer with her head in a book. You think you look so good, but you don't. You look like a homeless girl who found makeup and smeared it on like paint. Your nose is too big, your eyes are too small, and your lips are always chapped, it physically pains me to look at you," she spat, knowing from experience exactly what to say in order to tear Caroline down. She was an expert at degradation, and she knew it, finishing with what she deemed the verbal atom bomb.

"No wonder you're single."

She threw a thick roll of bills onto the counter.

"Keep the change. You'll need it, because without me, your silly little sweet shop will come crashing down on you. I expect my chocolate Tuesday morning."

Katy fixed her hair and sunglasses, then spared Caroline one last sneer before stalking out of the store. A figure, previously hidden behind a candy display, emerged. Hearing footsteps, Caroline looked up with tear-blurred eyes.

"Hey, sweetheart," the familiar voice came.

"Hey," she sniffled. "Sorry. I'm sorry, I'm a mess."

"A hot mess, darling. I heard the whole thing. That Katy has issues."

Caroline nodded and wiped her nose. At that very moment an ear-splitting scream came from outside.

"We'd better go see what's going on!" Scott exclaimed, quietly encouraging her. "Come on!"

He took her hand, tugging her outside where Katy cowered by her car, staring into thin air and screaming.

"Not again! Oh god, not again! Get away, get away, you horrid beast!" She broke down in sobs, flinging her sunglasses at whatever figure she saw in the middle of the street. People came out of their shops, shivering in the chilly air. Staring. Whispering.

"What's wrong with her?" Caroline asked in wonder.

"I'd imagine the lack of sleep is getting to her," Scott said, trying to be serious but unable to stop the quirk of his lips that Caroline found so endearing. She ignored the fact he hadn't let go of her hand.

"Did you have something to do with this?" Caroline asked, turning from the broken woman crying on the pavement to face her friend.

"What?" he placed his hand on his chest, a mix of surprise, offense, and amusement on his face.

"Scott..." she warned. She didn't know how he would have managed it, but something tugging at the edge of her mind made her ask. He dropped the facade.

"Absolutely not. I must say, though, she got what was coming to her."

Caroline didn't reply, and found herself feeling almost sorry for Katy. Almost. She and Scott walked back inside.

"So," he said, leaning on the counter as Caroline plugged in Katy's chocolate order. "Might be a bad time to ask, but I got invites for Katy's Christmas party this Tuesday-you know, the one in two days-and I was sort of hoping you'd be my plus one."

"Really? You want me to go to the party hosted by quite possibly my only enemy in the world? Seriously, I don't hate anyone, but I strongly, strongly, _strongly_ dislike Katy. A lot." Caroline tried to ignore the fact that this sounded very much like a date. Maybe the girls were right and she should get back out there, but was she really ready? She didn't want to open that door yet.

He shrugged. "I think you should come."

"Did you hear anything I said?"  
>"Yes. But I still invited you. What, would you prefer I took your friend Victoria along instead?"<p>

"You've been hanging out with Victoria?"

"Maybe." He winked. Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Please. Do not. You're what-thirty? She's too young for you."

"Nah, I don't think so."

"Scott, she's twenty three."

He shrugged. "It's still legal."

"You are _not _going to take her to Katy's party."

Leaning closer, Scott smirked. "Then come with me."

"Fine! Fine fine fine fine. But _just_ as friends."

Scott's smile died a little, but he quickly regained it. "Absolutely! As long as you're coming."

Caroline finished putting in the order.

"Now," she retrieved her paper bag lunch from beneath the counter. "Can we please talk about something that doesn't involve Katy?"

"Sure," Scott said, then thought for a moment. "Why don't you tell me more about that Paranormal Investigative club you were a part of in high school?"

That evening, Caroline dug through her closet. After telling Scott about the club she and her friends had participated in, she was curious as to whether she had actually kept most of the stuff (notebooks, salt, knives, and the like) that she had used then. Sure enough, after discovering that she hadn't given away those leather pants like she had meant to and finding a favourite band shirt, she located the heavy cardboard box.

"I really should be working on paperwork," she muttered, contemplating the box. Then she shrugged, and dragged it out into the middle of her floor.

There were seven notebooks filled with Caroline's own small handwriting, in a variety of gel pen colours. She flipped through them, remembering the meetings in an empty classroom or living room where Gavin had taught them about paranormal creatures, and she had carefully taken notes for every meeting. Well, most of them. When it was just Gavin and her, they usually put on a movie and cuddled on the couch, then he'd quiz her on different creatures they'd covered in between kisses.

Caroline gave the wall a sad smile as she played back the memories, then she replaced the notebooks into the box. However, she left it out, as she wanted to read them more closely later.

An hour later she was fast asleep in bed.

**Tuesday, December 1st, 2009**

Katy's visit to pick up her chocolate that Tuesday had been thankfully short, silent, and generally non-traumatizing. However, when the rich woman left Trickster's she discovered her car-a pretentious red Lamborghini-had disappeared. She was forced to order pizza and ask for a lift home. Humiliated, she was subjected to the driver's mundane chatter the whole way home, then he promptly told everyone he knew.

Within a few hours the entire town had heard of Katy's embarrassing situation. Her car was later found parked outside a divorce attorney's office, even though Katy swore she had never been there.

That evening, Caroline closed up early, texting her friends to let them know she was on her way home. She hurried through the cold winter air. Christmas lights swung from the lamp posts, and grey clouds teased at snow. When she reached her apartment she simply opened the door, knowing it was unlocked. Her three friends looked up from the hot chocolate they had helped themselves to.

"Hey guys," Caroline greeted, slightly breathless after her brisk walk.

"Caroline!" they chorused, exchanging hugs.

"I still can't believe you're going to Katy's party."

"Hey," Caroline shrugged, "you know how big they are. I probably won't even see her. Plus: free food."

"And booze," Victoria added. Caroline laughed.

"Okay," Annie said, glancing at the clock. "Scott will be here to pick you up at seven. It's currently 5:55. We need to hurry if we're going to finish on time."

"Wouldn't want to keep Prince Charming waiting," Christine joked.

Victoria stepped forward. "I bought a few of my dresses over. We're nearly the same size, and everyone knows you're absolutely hopeless at picking out proper evening attire."

"I brought makeup and hair things," Annie supplied.

"I brought moral support and alcohol!" Christine announced, holding up the bottle of wine. Caroline grinned at them all.

"My friends. What would I do without you?"

"Probably become a crazy cat lady living in Trickster's back room." Christine deadpanned. Caroline stuck her tongue out.

"No more talking! Let's get started!"

Annie herded them into Caroline's room.

"I think you would look simply stunning in the pink."

"I don't know Vic. It's not very festive, this is going to be a Christmas party, and it's very..."

"Short?" Christine suggested.

"Among other things."

Victoria sighed.

"Scott would love it," she mumbled, setting it aside. Caroline winced as Annie tugged a brush through a particularly nasty knot.

"But I'm not dressing for Scott, I'm dressing for myself. How about the red?"

Caroline pointed at the dress she mentioned.

Victoria looked it over. "It's very-"

"Classy?"

"Shut up, Christine. I was going to say simple."

"As opposed to the bejeweled skin suits you've been trying to persuade her to wear."

"I said shut up!"

Christine just grinned and sipped her wine.

"I think the red would look great on you, darling," Annie said. Victoria gave in.

"Fine! Go try on the red, but don't blame me if you don't get laid."

"I'm not aiming to get laid, Victoria."

"That's what they all say."

"Yeah, well, you know I'm not looking for that. I didn't even do it with Gavin, and you know what we were like."

They all quietened at Gavin's name.

Victoria broke the silence.

"Whatever floats your boat dude. Go try on the dress."

Caroline complied, picking up the dress and retreating into the bathroom. As soon as she closed the door she pressed her ear up against it. She felt slightly guilty listening in on her friends, but not guilty enough to stop.

She heard Annie sigh.

"She's still not over him."

"Would you be?" Christine asked. "They were in love. Like, the real deal. Soul mates and whatever. They were perfect for each other."

"That was five years ago, though," Victoria said. Caroline could practically hear Annie's sad smile.

"You weren't there. Gavin was amazing. He and Caroline just-fit. Like pieces to a puzzle."

"Just give it to her straight, Annie," Christine butted in. "Victoria, listen. Gavin and Caroline were just meant to be. They both had flaws, and they both accepted and loved each other anyway. Being with Gavin changed Caroline in the best possible way. He made her laugh when no one else could. He always knew what to say. And losing him broke Caroline more than she wants to admit."

"I know she loved Gavin, but don't you think it would be good for her to move on?"

"We do. But she needs to do it at her own pace," Annie said.

"And that just so happens to be the speed of a snail ambling through peanut butter on a path made of glue."

Christine's comment almost made Caroline laugh. When she raised her hand to stifle the sound, it came away wet. She realized tears were running down her face. Leaning her head back against the door, she closed her eyes, Gavin's face flashing across the blackness of her eyelids.

His curly black hair and goofy grin.

The way he blinked extra when he was nervous and blushed whenever they kissed.

His arms around while she cried.

The way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't paying attention-as if he was in awe she even existed, and even more amazed that she loved him.

Caroline shook her head. Forcefully. She couldn't afford to think of him, especially when she was about to attend a party. Who showed up with puffy red eyes to a party? After washing her face Caroline slipped on the dress.

It really was rather stunning. The floor length gown was made out of some kind of shimmery silk. It flowed like liquid as she moved, and was cool against her skin. The bright red wasn't overpowering, and made Caroline's pale skin shine, and her hair was set off like gold. A section of fabric draped horizontally across her chest and hung on her shoulders, giving it a wide neckline. The bodice was fitted down to her natural waist, then the fabric fell in flattering folds to brush her feet. Caroline felt radiant.

"Hey, you done yet?" Victoria knocked on the door. Pulled out of her contemplations on how one dress could change her whole outlook on herself, Caroline opened the door to gauge her friends reactions.

"Wow."

"Well then."

"Dang, girl."

Caroline blushed.

"I really like this dress," she said quietly.

"Perfect. Let's get you finished up," Annie said, clapping her hands. "I'll do hair, Victoria, can you do makeup?"

"Sure thing!"

While they fixed up her face and hair, Caroline noticed Christine throwing concerned glances her way. On one of these occasions she gave her friend a sad smile, who relaxed slightly and returned the expression.

"Ten minutes!" Victoria hollered from the kitchen, where she had joined Christine and poured herself a generous glass of wine. Annie handed Caroline a black and gold clutch.

"It's got your driver's license, credit card, some cash, and your phone. I took the liberty of packing it because I knew you'd forget. Oh, and your taser, because you won't go anywhere without the thing."

Caroline smiled.

"Here," Annie said, handing Caroline a delicate gold necklace. "I found this at the bottom of your jewelry box."

"Annie, I don't know if I should-"

"Your mother gave this to you to be worn. Just think how happy she'll be, looking down and seeing you enjoying yourself while wearing a reminder of her."

Caroline fixed the thin golden chain around her neck, allowing the pendant to rest against her skin. It was an artful rose, about the size of Caroline's two thumbnails together, but still gorgeously detailed. She looked up at Annie. "You always know what to say. Thank you."

"No problem."

The older woman pulled her into a hug. After a moment they broke apart, and Annie smiled.

"Now how about some wine before you go?"

"Sounds amazing."


End file.
